To What Extent Is It Possible to Be Fully Ethical Essay Example

To What Extent Is It Possible to Be Fully Ethical Essay To what extent is it possible to be fully ethical in business and in management practice? What are the main issues that you have to address and confront? What are the main ethical pressures facing the supermarket industry and how might these be addressed and overcome? Ethics questions morality, whether something is ethical or unethical, right or wrong, good or evil, aim for justice, etc. Each person may have their own different opinion, causing ethics to be a moral value to what feels right or wrong depending on the situation. It is human nature to be selfish in order to survive, management nature to be selfish in order to guarantee an increasing profit, but luckily moral values have allowed an increase to standards of life in the last few centuries. In the animal kingdom we see that mother species consume even their own children in order to survive. Here we also see that to benefit one, another must sacrifice. For organisations to continue increase in profits, they may need to push their way through different suppliers, different employees, and different obligations in order to maintain their long term aims, possibly being caused unethically. We will write a custom essay sample on To What Extent Is It Possible to Be Fully Ethical specifically for you for only $16.38 $13.9/page Order now We will write a custom essay sample on To What Extent Is It Possible to Be Fully Ethical specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer We will write a custom essay sample on To What Extent Is It Possible to Be Fully Ethical specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer To run a business, moral values are always considered but to a certain extent. Most debates argue that it is not possible to succeed well in managing a business without achieving unethically. The moral means behind is as to believe in what one does is not against ones morals, and to act upon those unveil actions possibly being considerate of others, as if they were part of your family. ‘The more successfully the manager does their work, the greater will be the integrity required. An IT related firm would monitor their staffs actions on the computer, call centres would monitor each phone calls made, retailers require security checks when staff leave the site – all these conduct good management, but could be argued to an extent that staff are not trusted, so are therefore strictly kept an eye on. To what level of security should managers undertake to prevent ethical dilemmas? If a group of employees cannot be trusted then should they be trusted to conduct the work ethical ly? Morality has been kept behind a fence in this situation, if each person in this world was able to be free from sin then there would be no need for security. Market research securely protects data given by clients, the honesty they insist their company abides to makes clients feel safe about the data they give out, but could result as use for financial gain. So despite market research abiding to strict codes of conduct, it could be argued that to use personal data for ones use of creating business/improving their trade could arise an ethical dilemma. However, due to ethics in this world, business and trade legislations have been bought to attention to improve society. Decades before, children in our country worked over 16 hours a day with limbs torn off, disabled workers were only starved to death and women could not work. In the modern world today, women can now have high responsibilities in a business, there is far less discrimination about an employee’s race, religious views or sex, the world is constantly changing and developing to adapt to society. Morality has led unions to be organised, laws to be instituted, and regulations to be established to protect unethical matters of society today. It can also be noted that ethics create relationships between people, create a moral value for teamwork in a group of employees, better relationships between employees and employers; these are benefits for the business as well as the employees-happy workers result in better productivity. Ethics has also created many acts and legislations in the UK to protect consumers, employees and employers so that all working environment are argumentatively safe, unlike previous decades and working standards in third world countries. Without the moral values of each other, society would become a mess of greed and selfishness. Keeping up with market demand is continuous; many businesses have to follow success of others in order to survive. A successful invention causes others to copy; pressure is then put on to the original in order to stay ahead on the market. The first mobile phone invention has now been updated and evolved into an I-phone 4G, enable a connection across the whole globe. A wrong act is committed to copy the clever idea of the mobile invention, but has caused millions upon trillions of trade and business in the mobile phone category and has also turned into one of the vital piece of technology each person has today. Counterfeiting has been introduced in the last century to prevent exact copies of another idea/product, yet China still produces an extortionate amount of ‘fake’ copies in a year leading from brands such as Gucci and Louis Vuitton, to selling human-made eggs. Many documentaries have been produced regarding these counterfeit fakes being sold illegally in China and imported into the UK, yet thousands of tourists visit these illegal malls to buy the fakes. However in the UK it is much less of an issue, legislations fine heavily these illegal sellers if caught so have lowered the chance in the matter occurring. Ford was one company who developed a change for their employees through trial and error. The managers saw that the turnover rate of their workforce was extremely high, and realised it was due to the stress and hatred the employees were feeling towards their job. In 1914 Henry Ford made the change to cut down the working hours from 9 hours per day to 8 hours, and double the wage pay. This made Ford famous internationally, causing the famous name Fordism. 3 From this was can see that Ford’s employer had taken into account the ethical issues of his business, creating a change to help his own business by thinking of his employees. Despite this, Ford also employed many inspectors to check up on his employees, strict rules were made to control his employees – such as no talking to others whilst working. Outside work, Ford also made the inspectors check up on the employee’s lifestyle, their homes and what they did with their time outside of work. 3 Things that didn’t satisfy Ford he would fire, such as employees drinking or always being debt. This of course was believed to be highly unethical and would not take place in our society today. The large competitive supermarket industries in the UK such as Tesco, Asda and Morrisons all sell similar products with the aim of being the cheapest. Each one strives to compete with the others causing their prices to be kept low, buying from cheap suppliers, paying cheap labour in third world countries to keep production of goods low, cutting down staff for self checkout machines etc. In order to maintain their prices low (or make them lower), Tesco have been known to have labour in sweater shops in third world countries to produce their Cherokee Clothing, labour in Africa growing crops but being paid only just enough to survive. The workforce here is mostly children working long periods a day for very little money, a salary which would be illegal for UK workers. Richer nations see this often as unacceptable, how people can be paid such low money for working in such poor conditions, but they are possibly earning money for the whole family to live on. Natural disasters cannot be prevented; so many people in this world are less fortunate and have different standards of living to the better off. Tesco also are under pressure to keep their prices low, so if Asda and Morrisons can sell their products so cheaply then Tesco will find their way to do so too. It is the ethical question to how to prevent these things which are hard to prevent, and to try and help each other live equally. A survey of workers at an Aldi supplier in Indonesia for example revealed: †¢90% stating their wages were insufficient to meet their daily needs †¢55% stating they had no written contract, and †¢40% reporting trade union repression. ’ Similarly, stores like Aldi and Lydl are reaching their profits selling their misleading products, which are all m ade to look like a well known brand. Their brandings are cheaper, and their labours are also paid poorly, causing their business to keep up during the recession for being cheap. Their work force in Indonesia is also seen as unacceptable and has drawn attention to the media in 2008. The Fairtrade organisation is an established group which has been built up in the recent years to ensure workers are being paid what is believed as ‘a fair salary’. It started up aiming to help the employees which are not receiving a fair amount of reward as they should be for doing their end of work. For products to earn a Fairtrade label they must pay producers a fair price, and help improve working conditions investing in sustainability. Many consumers now only buy Fairtrade items as it overcomes the ethical dilemmas known about supermarkets suppliers’ working conditions. Its ethical aims and objectives have successfully been profitable and there are now increasing amounts of Fairtrade items on the market. Pressure groups are external society factors which could influence business activity. Some pressure groups may be less demanding than others, for example selling real animal fur to Tesco’s would not be an issue, but selling addictive products such as Tobacco could be a responsibility to tackle. Pressure groups are mostly a group designed to stop/prevent something being done or product being sold, such as testing drugs on animals. Ideally, they believe their morals are correct which is why they are forcing it to a stop. It is hard for supermarkets to prevent every unethical matter; most Tesco’s medicines must have been tested on animals before it can be given to humans, but they could cut down necessity of hurting animals if possible. Gillette, a maker of razors and shaving products has been known to test their products on animals. Several other companies have tried to prevent the problem of health on animals, but Gillette has continued with the idea and agued if hey need to satisfy consumers and stakeholders they need to continue with their animal testing. This is a difficult issue as some people would argue that it is more important to ensure human beings safety first, there it is acceptable that it should be test to benefit people, whilst others would mention to minimize the harm to animals to test on them only when it is necessary. The Body Shop started by Anita Roddick in 1976 is a large skin and h ealth care international company. The products sold by the Body Shop ensure that none of its products have been tried or tested on animals as they contain natural, botanical ingredients. Many consumers buy this idea and their recycling (refilling) aims which has made it one of the largest skin product retail chains in the market. The smell of their natural ingredients and the ethical value behind their creation of the products create a vast favour to customers, yet also being a successful business. A supermarket business will nevertheless affect many stakeholders. A good profitable year would create more jobs, happier shareholders, and happier customers. Profits may be high, customers may be more willing to spend more on luxury goods, suppliers receive more trade, but it doesn’t last forever. Recession will occur every few years, causing all of this to have to cut down. Managers will have to cut down staff, finding the smallest reasons to dismiss employees, unethically. Suppliers will need to be providing their service as cheap as possible; otherwise declined. They will insist to trade with large businesses and therefore be under pressure to offer illegal or terrible working conditions for the labour such as in third world countries to win the supermarket’s choice, unethically. The old man down the road from Tesco may lose his job trying to compete in selling home grown groceries as his only source of income, unfortunately. As a result, large supermarkets trying to compete to survive will have to help itself, without questions morality in most cases; it is therefore argued that successful businesses are managed unethically. On the other hand, the ethical decisions that could be undertaken yet still are possible. The managers should choose the course of action best for the stakeholders in order to satisfy them for a successful business. It is the stakeholders that allow a business to be successful; without employees, suppliers and consumers, there is no trade able to occur. Managers need to look after their staff, for example give them a reasonable salary, abide within the legal working hours, keep their working conditions at a satisfactory level, give them some privacy as well as some security (Lockers, data protection etc), health and safety etc. Keeping employees happy will result in a more productivity by the workforce. Managers also need to consider the eyes of a consumer, i. e. Good satisfactory quality products, no misleading titles, descriptions or information, clean premises, health and safety regulations etc. If they do not abide to these, customers may not return or even sue them. Similarly, managers need to also treat their suppliers well, they cannot expect to owe suppliers month after month as it could threaten their survival, and instead create a good relationship with them if they wish to have better credit rating and discounts. Sometimes ethics and moral values are what guide managers to their decision makings. If they consider ethical values to change something then they are most likely to expect a positive result. When managers recruit their staff, they will be looking for a particular type of person or personality to take on the job role. However, sometimes this could lead to discrimination. Some small town Kebab shops often put up posters mentioning they wish to recruit a staff member with the same race as themselves, allowing easy communication. This is against the Employer Discrimination Act by law it should not be allowed. In large businesses we see this much less, the language used isn’t considered acceptable-to only allow to take on a job if you are the correct race, and neither would asking for a particular sex or religious belief-unless a good reason is given. Nevertheless when asking for a particular target, it shouldn’t be made obvious to offend people, nor should it be made so blatant to make people angry. Managers also need to consider moral views to selling their products. Beech-Nut was a maker of baby-food who was close to being bankrupt in the 1980’s. The company took out a contract with a low-cost supplier of apple juice concentrate, but was later found to contain quantities of corn soup. The managers insisted in carrying on selling the misleading product to keep their business alive, but later was caught and fined heavily for fraud. It is easier to be ethical without anything to hide, than to mislead or commit fraud to sellers. Sometimes honesty may take a longer route to get around, i. e. o receive instant sales, but in the long-run dishonesty could lead to serious matters, just like Beech-Nut. In summary, successful management in business is tough, but to be fully ethical in everything is even tougher. In this world in order to succeed, sacrifice is committed; success does not require ethical conduct. People in poor countries strive in life to try and survive, stealing f rom others, committing all sorts of crime. It is very hard to have good management in a firm if to be completely ethical, it’s the survival of the fittest in the animal kingdom, survival of using tactics in business. If one needs to gain, someone else might be hurt. Nevertheless we do see society changing in many ways due to ethics, which is why the majority of life is different compared to when humans first existed. Irrespectively, organisations should still acknowledge the ethics in the world to create the right initiatives. Mutual respect and trust can provide goodwill between relationships with people and trade. Adhering with ethical values can be seen by consumers which in the long term will benefit rather than working with evil. Being truthful and trustworthy also gains goodwill by consumers and employees towards a business. We can see that although Innocent Smoothies may not be gaining as instant profit in the short run when first set up; after it has been promoted well people begin to see the moral values inside these ‘innocent’ pricey products. They have reached a high profit margin in a few years time, and encouraged other companies to begin producing ethically as they do- degradable packaging, natural ingredients, and giving 10% profit to people who ‘need it’. The majority of supermarkets in the UK now sell Innocent Smoothies as it is a fast selling product yet a choice which everyone is fond of. Overall the benefits of ethics in business are being able to manage and strengthen the balance of society and the culture of organisations. Apart from bringing trust into relationships between groups and teams, the morals and values which human beings have in our country can be seen as safe to live upon. Ethics can create a profitable and effective business, and has been discovered more this century as the world is constantly improving.

A World In Need Of Tolerance Essays - Maria Taipaleenmki

A World In Need Of Tolerance Essays - Maria Taipaleenmki A World In Need Of Tolerance I did not know what to expect from the Museum of Tolerance, I went in with the feeling that I was doing this just for class and was semi-interested. When we arrived we were a little early for our tour and had a little over half an hour to kill. We were directed to the second floor where the multimedia interactive computers where located. On that floor there were displays and was basically your typical museum. In the back of my mind I was wondering where all the other stuff was and I was dreading that it would be your typical museum experience. When we got tired of the computers we waited in the lobby for our tour to start. Thats when I noticed a little display on Ann Franks Diary. On the display was a quote that sparked my interest but to my dismay I can not remember the whole thing, but what I do remember is that it had something to do with a Rose and a thought of her. It was a sad little entry. It got me thinking about what the Museum represented and I felt a little guilty for wanting to just get it over with. When we first entered we were lead to the tolerance section and the first thing I experienced was the Point of View Cafe. It was a powerful experience and truly demonstrates the power of speech. Like in book and movies I have read or seen in the past, I felt like climbing into the little screen and beating a little sense into the radio announcer. Its just disturbing how some people can truly believe those things. When confronted with the consequences of what they say they protest and hide behind the law, it is not their fault all they are doing is speaking the truth. I forget what we saw next but what I do remember is the tour of the holocaust. As I walk on and listened it drew me deeper and deeper into what happened to the Jews. Just the thoughts and actions of everyone was amazing. How everyone did not think that anything would happen. Everyone just chose to ignore it and go on with his or her lives. Then came the point where things did happen and one reason given why the nazis came into power was, If you tell a lie long enough, people will start to believe you. The persecution towards the Jews first started with the blaming of them for the loss of WWI. This is what blows my mind, Yes Germany lost and they choose to blame their loss on 1% of their population, the Jews. 1% of the population, how could that percentage of people influence the winning or losing of a war. All it takes is common sense to figure out that the Jews were just the scapegoats. How could a whole country of people, a whole continent join together in the systematic murder of another group? It is disgusting that the only reason that the rest of the world stepped in was because they were starting to be threatened too. That the whole world turned a blind eye and when the Jews were at their doorsteps they were turn away and sent back to be slaughtered. As the Australians said the tour, We dont have a racial problem, and we dont want to import one. How can the entire world step back and pretend they did not see what was going on in the world? How can people happily volunteer to help massacre the Jews? I believe that is the question the museum brings up and tries to help answer. One thing that made the tour eerie was when we entered the gates of the concentration camp. Where the carpet tuned to stone and the gates were just sitting open. I can not even try to feel how the Jews felt when they were forced into those gates. The next thing that made me think was when we entered the shower room. I just sat in the corner and just looked around while everyone watched the videos. I was thinking to myself, how people can even come

Instruction and Assessment Unique to Each Student

Instruction and Assessment Unique to Each Student If teaching were as simple as using the one best way to teach everything, it would be considered more of a science. However, there isnt just one best way to teach everything and thats why teaching is an art. If teaching meant simply following a text book and using the same size fits all approach, then anyone could teach, right? Thats what makes teachers and especially special educators unique and special. Long ago, teachers knew that individual needs, strengths and weaknesses must drive instructional and assessment practice. Weve always known that children come in their own individual packages and that no two children learn the same way even though the curriculum may be the same. Instructional and assessment practice can (and should) be different to ensure that learning happens. This is where differentiated instruction and assessment comes in. Teachers need to create a variety of entry points to ensure that student differing abilities, strengths, and needs are all taken into consideration. Students then need varying opportunities to demonstrate their knowledge based on the teaching, hence differentiated assessment. Here are the nuts and bolts of differentiated instruction and assessment: Choice is key to the process. Choice of learning activity as well as choice in the assessment (how the student will demonstrate understanding).The learning tasks always consider the students strengths/weaknesses. Visual learners will have visual cues, auditory learners will have auditory cues etc.Groupings of students will vary, some will work better independently and others will work in various group settings.Multiple intelligence is taken into consideration as are the students learning and thinking styles .Lessons are authentic to ensure that all students can make connections.Project and problem based learning are also key in differentiated instruction and assessment.Lessons and assessments are adapted to meet the needs of all students.Opportunities for children to think for themselves is clearly evident. Differentiated instruction and assessment IS NOT NEW! Great teachers have been implementing these strategies for a long time. What does differentiated instruction and assessment look like? First of all, identify the learning outcomes. For the purpose of this explanation, Ill use Natural Disasters. Now we need to tap into our students prior knowledge. What do they know? For this stage you can do a brainstorm with the whole group or small groups or individually. Or, you can do a KWL chart. Graphic organizers work well for tapping into prior knowledge. You may also consider using a who, what, when, where, why and how graphic organizers individually or in groups. Key to this task is ensuring that everyone can contribute. Now that youve identified what the students know, its time to move into what they need and want to learn. You can post chart paper around the room dividing the topic into sub topics. For instance, for natural disasters I would post chart paper with different headings (hurricanes, tornadoes, tsunamis, earthquakes etc.). Each group or individual comes to the chart paper and writes down what they know about any of the topics. From this point you can form discussion groups based on interest, each group signs up for the natural disaster they want to learn more about. The groups will need to identify the resources that will help them gain additional information. Now its time to determine how the students will demonstrate their new knowledge after their investigations/research which will include books, documentaries, internet research etc. For this, again, choice is necessary as is taking into consideration their strengths/needs and learning styles. Here are some suggestions: create a talk show, write a news release, teach the class, create an informational brochure, create a powerpoint to show everyone, make illustrations with descriptors, give a demonstration, role play a newscast, create a puppet show, write an information song, poem, rap or cheer, create flow charts or show a step by step process, put on an informational commercial, create a jeopardy or who wants to be a millionaire game. The possibilities with any topic are endless. Through these processes, students can also keep journals in a variety of methods. They can jot down their new facts and ideas about the concepts followed by their thoughts and reflections. Or they can keep a log of what they know and what questions they still have. A Word About Assessment You can assess the following: completion of tasks, the ability to work with and listen to others, participation levels, respects self and others, ability to discuss, explain, make connections, debate, support opinions, infer, reason, re-tell, describe, report, predict etc.The assessment rubric should contain descriptors for both social skills and knowledge skills. As you can see, you have probably already been differentiating your instruction and assessment in much of what youre already doing. You may be asking, when does direct instruction come into play? As youre watching your groups, there will always be some students who will need some additional support, recognize it as you see it and pull those individuals together to help move them along the learning continuum. If you can answer the following questions, youre well on your way. How are you differentiating content? (variety of leveled materials, choice, varied presentation formats etc.)How are you differentiating assessment? (students have many options to demonstrate their new knowledge)How are you differentiating the process? (choice and variety of tasks that consider learning styles, strengths, and needs, flexible groupings etc.) Although differentiating can be challenging at times, stick with it, you will see results.

Contract Remoteness of Damages Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Contract Remoteness of Damages - Essay Example Sometimes, breach are treated immaterially when the aggrieved party may not have actually suffered actual damage from the breach or may have and at other times, the other party is compelled to indemnify and perform accordingly to the agreed terms or pay minimal damages resulting to such breach. Other fundamental breach of contract treated as a grave offense against the agreement itself results to the termination of the performance of the contract thereby entitling the party to sue for damages. In anticipation of a probable breach, a party may sue for the termination of the contract and file for damages without the actual breach taking place. Consequently, the laws that provides a remedy for any breach of contract is commonly known by lawyers as the "rule of remoteness" that is determined by the contractual agreement, even when it is not covered in its express terms. Further the law has delegated and simplified the classification under non-pecuniary and pecuniary losses with the former commonly sought as a supportive argument in respect for personal injuries and deaths. Such differences are identified in a contract to measure the nature of breach of duty which the damage meant to undo and award is reflective in the underlying obligation. Sometimes, rather than argue for the actual obligation to take particular effect, the aggrieved party is keener on pressing charges with the pure knowledge of the allocation which the law has recognized. This has concurrently resulted and thereby pushed the limit to the losses for which the other party is actually responsible within at the time of conclusion of the agreement. This will i n fact result to people placing more emphasis in contract making which has been treated on the possible losses arising from its breach than the advantages gained from its performance. Law and jurisprudence dictates that in losses arising from the breach of contract, the remoteness of damages is governed by certain doctrines that treat the losses as fair and reasonable which in Hadley v. Baxendale [1854] is justified as, "according to the usual course of things" (non-pecuniary) and "supposed to be in contemplation of both parties at the time the contract was made" (pecuniary). Non-pecuniary damages are measured by the loss of bargain, wasted expenditures; and total failure of consideration under the Civil Liability (Contribution) Act 1978. A requirement common to both, of course, is that an injury must have been sustained by the claimant himself nonetheless, differs for while it is pecuniary in actual or compensatory damages, it is, upon the other hand, non-pecuniary in the case of actual damages. The actual loss under judicial discretion is a manifestation yet an assumption to be assessed under no accepted principle but upon which answers may be based. Under the question of significance, whatever reasonably appears to have been significant to the promisor in assuming the risk(Smith, 1997), setting the price and deciding in how much effort to expend in order to perform may be up to the value of an ordinary loss that was contemplated if in fact it did not occur. Guided by the principles of "quantum meruit", express agreements and fixed in a contract shall entitle the aggrieved to claim for what is agreed in

Language Use and Culture Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Language Use and Culture - Essay Example Informal language on the other hand is used in situations that are more relaxed and often involve people that we are very familiar with. Formal language is mostly used in writing, whereas informal language is used in speech. There are times, however, when informal language is used in writing. Such situations involve writing letters, emails and text messages to friends or family members. Informal Use of spoken language can also be formal. For instance, when a lecturer is giving lectures to students mostly the language is formal. For instance, a statement like ‘We went to Barcelona for the weekend. We have a lot of things to tell you’, is a formal statement. When said informally the statement would be ‘Went to Barcelona for the weekend. Lots to tell you. In his speech, John McWhorter says that people have stopped giving speeches formally and have now changed gradually to give informal speeches. He says that the kind of speech given in an old movie where one clears his throat before giving the speech I and go, â€Å" Ahem, ladies and gentlemen,† is a thing of the past. He continues to say that even the way we write has gradually changed from formal to informal. John says that people, especially young people write as if they are talking not giving about capital letters or punctuation especially when texting. John refers to texting as fingered speech because it is basically a form of speech in writing. Informal language sometimes involves use of slang. Slang may be described as a subset of a language used by a particular group of people. Slang usually consists of words and phrases which are not in the English dictionary. These words and phrases could be distortions of already existing English words or entirely new creations. Slang is used by almost all groups of people in society who have common interests or situations. The group of people that uses slang

Antecedents and Consequences of Organizational Intelligence

Antecedents and Consequences of Organizational Intelligence Chapter 1: Introduction Life is not primarily a quest for pleasure, as Freud believed, or a quest for power, as Alfred Adler taught, but a quest for meaning in work (doing something significant), in love (caring for another person) and in courage (during difficult times) (Frankl, 2006). This chapter provides an overall understanding of this dissertation. Section 1.1 describes the research background. Section 1.2 discusses the research objectives and questions. The following section 1.3 explains research scope. In section 1.4, significance of the research is discussed. Finally, this dissertation describes the organization of this dissertation in Section 1.5. Research Background In today’s world, organizations confront fast and astonishing changes. Their survival will depend on adaptation capability they will perform so that, they can comply with those changes. As a result of this situation, the management concept with its process acquires a different character, which is because of technological progression and globalization. In this age, to consistently sustain the importance, knowledge concept of the organization is changing fast. In organizations, shared individual knowledge transform into organizational information. Effective application of organizational knowledge forms intelligent organizations progressively. However, in order to achieve these, an intuition of making use of knowledge in creative way is required. Therefore, to survive in the demanding and competitive environment, organizations are needed to be intelligent in today’s world. Organization is alive and, for being strived needs continuous information. While organization in the past have been viewed as compilations of tasks, products, employees, profit and processes, today they are increasingly seen as intelligent systems designed to manage knowledge. Therefore, measuring ability of learning, finding and logical thinking is necessary for evaluation and performance improvement. Seeing such scenario in high turbulent world, those men are successful and efficient who possess a high IQ. Undoubtedly, men can overcome their life problems by utilizing their given intelligence. Certainly, it is true in organizational world particularly in modern age in which organizations have become more complicated and their survival has become more difficult due to improvements in sciences and industries as well as the emergence of new needs and challenges overtime. Now, this question arises how we can prepare ourselves to face such uncertainties where change is only thing that is stable. Obviously, those organizations are successful which can utilize their employees thinking power effectively. As a fascinating concept and intriguing research area, â€Å"intelligence† finds strong appeal in many disciplines outside of individual and cognitive psychology (Sternberg and Kaufman, 1998). One of the disciplines that provoked increased interest in the importance of intelligence is the management and organization development literature (Glynn, 1996; March, 1999; Stalinski, 2004). In this globalized world, when the environment is so turbulent what the organizations are needed to do is, they need to be more intelligent in order to have competitive advantage over their competitors. Though the concept â€Å"organizational intelligence (OI)† was introduced in 1967 but not much has been done in this area till now. Even if we disregard the entire literature in which organizational intelligence was supposedly aggregated (Kurzman and Owens, 2002), the term is still ambiguous in the context of organizational development scholarship. This is true because there is a lack of a un ified theory of intelligence in organizational settings as noted by the numerous and fragmented perspectives and ideas of researchers in the field (Glynn, 1996). Research Questions and Objectives The primary objective of this dissertation is to delineate an integrative view of organizational intelligence and provide some guidelines. For this purpose, this dissertation attempts to find out the antecedents and consequences of organizational intelligence and to test the proposed conceptual model of organizational intelligence. Related with this purpose, previous research shows some research challenges. The first challenge is to explore the factor structure of organizational intelligence. An integrative perspective of organizational intelligence is a necessity. It is also noted that there is a dearth of studies which attempted to explore the factor structure of organizational intelligence. Consequently, the other challenge is to test the proposed conceptual model of organizational intelligence. Previous studies did not show any such empirical finding on this issue. Therefore, the main research aim is to find out the antecedents and consequences of OI and develop and test a model. This research has identified five important constructs in identifying the antecedents and consequences of OI: Leadership Organizational culture Organizational intelligence Organizational innovational capability Organizational performance This research discusses the following research questions: RQ1. What is the factor structure of the OI construct? RQ2. To what extent does leadership impact organizational intelligence? RQ3. To what extent does organizational culture impact organizational intelligence? RQ4. To what extent does organizational intelligence impact organizational performance via organizational innovational capability? On the basis of the above research questions following research objectives were formed: Research Objective 1 (RO1)- To explore the factor structure of organizational intelligence Research Objective 2 (RO2)- To investigate the influence of leadership on organizational intelligence Research objective 3 (RO3)- To investigate the influence of organizational culture on organizational intelligence Research Objective 4 (RO4)- To further understand the relationship between organizational intelligence and organizational performance via organizational innovational capability Research Objective 5 (RO5)- To assess existing models of OI Research Objective 6 (RO6)- To develop a conclusive model of antecedents and consequences of OI based on the research findings; and, Research Objective 7 (RO7)- To validate the model and test the hypotheses The sixth and seventh research objectives are the final output of this research, which attempts to develop an appropriate structural measurement model of antecedents and consequences of OI. Research scope This relation is aimed at investigating the antecedents and consequences of organizational intelligence. In doing so, this thesis presents a model of antecedents and consequences of organizational intelligence (OI), based on the Kalkhan (2007), Falletta (2008) and Albrecht’s (2003) model and empirically test hypotheses. This model of OI was validated by a survey in an R D organization. An organization is regarded as a system of inter subjectively shared meanings sustained through social interaction (Walsh and Ungson, 1991). Organizational intelligence emerges from those interactions that constitute the organization. It is embedded in the structured patterns of thought and action in which organizational members interact and engage (Glynn, 1996). Technologically advanced systems affect organizational intelligence as well. They enable the development of organizational intelligence (Huber, 1990; Leidner and Elam, 1995). Thus, organizational intelligence is more than the aggregate intelligence of organizational members; it is the intelligence of the organization itself as a larger system. An unintelligent organization can be composed of apparently intelligent people and an intelligent organization can be composed of relatively unintelligent components (Albrecht, 2003; Kerfoot, 2003). Organizations, as well as people, display differing degrees of intelligence. Difference s among organizations’ intelligences are not related to the differences among the intelligences of organizations’ members only. Many factors such as organizational symbols, patterns of interaction, organizational culture, socialization processes and advanced technological systems influence the differences among organizations’ intelligences. This area has not been much explored and especially in India not much significant work has come into the light. Therefore, a strong need was felt to study this area as it seems to be very important in today’s world. It has been found out that most of the works on OI are not empirically supported. Halal (1997) in his work stated that organizational intelligence leads to organizational performance. After the review of literature it was found that organizational intelligence is the factor which promotes knowledge management, creativity, innovativeness, performance and it helps organization in achieving its goal. Therefore, after understanding its impact on other related OB constructs, it was concluded that it deserves concerted attention. 1.4 Significance of the Research As already stated that there is a dire need of empirical investigations in the field of organizational intelligence because this is the factor which influences performance of the organization (Halal, 2000). This study tries to answer the question that if the lack of resources and the overload of information are the problems, is intelligence the solution to improve organizations? In the Knowledge Economy, the organization needs to develop and maintain supportive partnerships to deal with complex issues in uncertain environments, turning challenges into opportunities, anticipating and understanding emerging threats and recovering from unexpected shocks and cries. In other words, in times of crisis and high economic and social turbulence, organizations must show high levels of intelligence to meet the needs of the organizations. The ability to solve problems and make decisions, defined as ‘intelligence’, is the solution to improve organizations. This assumption is based on the conviction that the right answer to users’ need depends on managers’ ability to absorb what is happening in the environment and to correctly act on the generated knowledge. Rothberg and Erickson (2004) hold that intelligence, in all forms, comes from the strategic management of knowledge, understanding the environment within which knowledge is collected and used, and making the knowledge actionable, especially by strategic decision makers. Understanding of OI and its antecedents and consequences may immensely help the organizations and assist them in improving and achieving their objectives. Concept of OI has evolved and advanced a variety of practices and processes aimed at the creation and application of knowledge. However, scholars have been concerned by, and practitioners have struggled with, the lack of clear, comprehensive concepts that define the field of organizational intelligence (Staskeviciute, 2009). Ercetin (2009) holds that definitions of intelligence are in continuous revision. In particular, she finds that there is no unifying understanding of the concept of intelligence in management (Staskeviciute, 2009). Staskeviciute and Ciutiene (2008) conclude that in scientific literature it is possible to find different concepts of organizational intelligence, but they are all bounded by the same feature: the organization’s capability to adapt to environment and knowledge management, because organizational intelligence involves knowledge based on the organization’s capacity. Organizational intelligence refers to the process of turning data into knowledge and knowledge into action for organizational gain (Cronquist, 2011). On a practical level, the CETISME cooperative (Cooperate to Promote Economic and Technological Intelligence in SMEs) has stated that consistently getting the right information at the right moment can only be the result of a permanent intelligence process leading to policy established at the highest level of the organization (2002). Cruz and Dominguez (2007) point out that the processes of perception, knowledge creation and decision making are favored by the proper management of information resources. The goal of OI is to interpret and act on relevant facts and environmental signals from the learning arising from acquired competences (skills +knowledge + attitudes). In general, the perception, interpretation, analysis, integration and use of knowledge is related to OI. The central argument of this thesis is to identify the factors which lead to organizational intelligence and what are the resultant factors when organization is acting intelligently. In the moments of uncertainty, organizations must have high levels of intelligence to interpret, integrate, combine and filter the relevant knowledge. Intelligent systems depend on a structured network of â€Å"expert analyzers† who offer their technical skill, knowledge, and personal experiences. They engage with the systems by validating information, discovering relationships between pieces of information and conducting analyses. In short, OI systems provide the pathways for knowledge to become intelligent, that is, actionable (answer â€Å"so what† questions and stay future-focused). They can also direct actions to acquire additional knowledge necessary to â€Å"fill in the blanks†. Full knowledge, with appropriate analysis, provided to the key manager at the right time defines how intelligence can extend and protect the capabilities of organizational systems (Rothberg Erickson, 2004). Also, its significance increases when it is seen in the context of RD organization, as the people working there are intelligent and knowledge workers, therefore, the relevance of this concept is automatically enhanced in such scenario, which this study tries to look into. Organization of the Dissertation To describe organizational intelligence and identify its antecedents and consequences, this dissertation will follow the research procedure and structure as shown in Figure 1-1. It consists of six major parts: (i) introduction, (ii) literature review, (iii) development of theoretical framework and hypotheses, (iv) research methodology, (v) data analysis and research findings, (vi) discussion, and conclusion. The remainder of the dissertation is organized as follows. The following chapter surveys summarizes the related studies. It includes the relevant literature of organizational intelligence, empirical studies on organizational intelligence and its antecedents and consequences. In chapter 3, this dissertation proposes a conceptual research model, and explores the key variables and their relationships. In chapter 4, research methodologies are explained such as theoretical research approaches, design and administration of the survey. It also explains the sample and measures. Chapter 5 illustrates the analysis and summarizes analysis results. Chapter 6 extends with the explanation of the findings and tested model, it also discusses the contributions and limitations of the study and offer suggestions for future study. Table 1.1 Simplified Structure of the Thesis

Poetry Analysis- in the Station of the Metro

When we read poems, we don’t exactly interpret the meaning of it automatically. It takes us a shot, or two, or three to fully understand the meaning of it or at least have your own interpretation. In the poem In a Station of the Metro, written by Ezra Pound, one of the themes that are presented is modernization. Nowadays, the metro isn’t the place where people want to be because of its lousy appearance, the people seem a little odd for others, and in other words people don’t like taking it because we all have the mentality that something bad will happen.In the next few paragraphs, it will explain detail by detail how certain literary elements are used and relate to the theme. Everything we read has a mood to put us in while we read whether it’d be comical, depressing, or even mysterious. The poem’s mood is profound. Why is this poem so profound? Well for one, with only 2 sentences there are only so much that we can uncover about a poem. A perfect ex ample to back up the fact that this poem is profound is the title.We all think that the title isn’t as important as the rest of the poem but in this one it is because without it, nobody would be able to figure out the real meaning since no one will know what the writer wrote about. For example, without the title, it can be a performer looking at the audience waiting, looking like petals on a branch just sitting there waiting for seasons to change, meaning for the performer to go up. Profound moods and modernization come together because when you think about something in general, sometimes you try discovering a new meaning to it.In the poem, we see a clear indication that with the only two sentences there are, we are supposed to come up with our own meaning. What the author did was probably for us readers to decode our own meaning of the poem by just writing 2 sentences. Because the mood is so profound, it’s very relevant to modernization because in the modern world, we find that metros are filled with angry people pushing, dirty floors and walls. The author is basically telling us that we are still the same people just on a dirty metro, as well reminding us to be calm and think of ourselves as flowers on a branch.What we see and what we actually interpret are two different things. Not everything is what it seems to be. Another element used is comparisons. To compare something means to take something and make it seem like something else. In the poem, the poet describes â€Å"faces in the crowd† as â€Å"petals on a wet, black bough† because in a crowd, it’s easy to pick out different faces because everyone is different. Everyone has a unique look and since the poet is picking out faces in a crowd, it could be a comparison to picking out petals, off a stem or a bough, one by one as if each petal was an individual face.Imagery can also be linked with the topic of comparisons because every sentence has a different meaning that ca n be linked to each other in a way that we can imagine it. Usually a metro is hectic, nobody really wants to be in it especially at rush hour, but what the poet is trying to do is remind us that within our environment around us are serenity and peace in ourselves that we have to think of. Petals from flowers are very delicate and the poet tells us that if it’s hectic on the metro or anywhere else, there is always peace to think of, like the flowers.These elements are relevant to the theme because nowadays, people tend to judge before they think twice. In the poem for example, if the people weren’t reminded that there is peace and serenity within themselves, then they’d think their society is a bad place. Is there such thing as nonsense? Is a pile of nonsense put together supposed to make sense? In the poem, the last two elements presented are effective line breaks and ambiguity.To be ambiguous means to be vague, and the poem really shows the vagueness in the eff ective line breaks. Every line in the poem is a different sentence, irrelevant to the others. The first sentence would have to be the title, â€Å"In a Station of the Metro†. This is an incomplete sentence and with the others that come, it still makes no sense. The second sentence is â€Å"The apparition of these faces in a crowd;†, still an incomplete sentence because there’s a verb that needs to come into play for it to be complete and make sense.And the last sentence of the poem is â€Å"Petals on a wet, black bough†; this as well is an incomplete sentence simply just a description. But if everything is put together, this is where ambiguity and as well imagery comes in. The fact that everything is so vague and that after every sentence there’s a break, it could subliminally mean that everything is meant to be put together like a puzzle. When the sentences are put together, it tells us that within a crowd of people on a metro, everyone is unique like petals on a bough.Even if something is ambiguous, there is always a way to figure out some meaning for it. This is related to modernization because like imagery, we don’t perceive things for what they are right away so it’s very vague, then after figuring out what it could mean or be; everything would make sense. To conclude, modernization has changed the way we think as the years go by, we all have different points of view now and we judge before we think things through.In the poem, using all the elements like mood, imagery, comparisons, ambiguity and use of effective line breaks, they all had some relevance towards the theme which was modernization. Things have changed since the earlier years. Back then, no one judged right away, everyone was just living. Now that we have new technology and such, it makes us closed minded because technology told made us believe that the real world sucks. The poem made me realize that there is more to the world than what we can a ctually physically see. Sometimes what we see isn’t exactly what we think it is.